The Lincoln Board of Education held its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 25, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Schools Steve Joel District Leadership Center, 5905 O Street. You can watch the full regular meeting video on YouTube.
First reading
Newly annexed property to the City of Lincoln
The Board of Education assigns school attendance areas to property newly annexed to the City of Lincoln. This action establishes school attendance areas prior to the sale of residential lots, allowing purchasers to know what schools their children will attend.
The area near 112th and O streets was recently annexed into the City of Lincoln. The proposal assigns the newly annexed area to Robinson Elementary School, Culler Middle School and East High School
The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the proposed assignments at the next meeting.
Woods Charitable Trust grant application
LPS staff would like to apply for the Woods Charitable grant to support its Bridge Builders tutoring and mentoring program at Lincoln High School for the 2026-2027 school year. Through the work of an English Learner advocate, LPS contracts with college students and graduates who are bilingual in languages commonly spoken by English Language students, who are then trained to provide tutoring and mentoring services with specific regard for the unique needs of students new to the country and to the English language. This is the second year for the program.
Due to the grant timeline, the Board waived second reading and voted to approve the grant application.
2026-2027 property and liability insurance rates
For 26 years, LPS Risk Management has arranged for the district’s insurance coverage through an Owner Controlled Self-Insurance program. This allows the school district to have lower premiums, hold funds until needed to pay claims, have the district legal counsel involved in all lawsuits, have all claim settlements approved by the school district and keeps LPS staff and legal counsel involved in claims from the beginning.
The LPS insurance broker, UNICO, provides LPS Risk Management with a report comparing the estimated premium costs for standard insurance coverage to the actual Owner Controlled Protected Self-Insurance program costs and estimates a savings to the district of more than one million dollars per year in premium costs alone.
Due to timelines, the Board waived second reading and voted to approve the insurance rates as presented to the Board.
Wheelchair school buses
Staff asked for vendors to submit proposals to purchase five wheelchair school buses with three-point safety belts to replace pieces of the existing fleet that are aging. Staff recommended the Board approve the lowest bid from Cornhusker International Trucks in Lincoln for $802,250.
The Board will hold a second reading and vote on the proposal at the next meeting.
Second reading
2026-27 Lincoln Public Schools Base Growth Percentage Increase
State statute says that year-over-year growth of a public school district’s property tax request authority is generally limited to a base growth percentage cap. This upcoming budget year, due to negotiated agreements that address the need to continue recruiting and retain high-quality staff while competing with peer districts, the need was higher. These variables drove the growth, requiring the Board to consider adopting an increase to the base growth percentage to the property tax request authority.
The Board is planning to only use what is needed, and there will be a majority of the base growth that will be unused and untaxed. The Board of Education held a public hearing on the proposed 2026-2027 Budget on Monday, August 24. The community can learn more about the proposed budget on the LPS website.
The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the proposal.
Interlocal Cooperation Act Agreement for School Resource Officers and Threat Assessment Officer
Every year, LPS reviews an agreement with the City of Lincoln to fund school resource officers and a threat assessment officer as part of the Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal Agreement. The 14 SROs are assigned to LPS middle and high schools, and the threat assessment officer is assigned to the school district. This year, the City of Lincoln proposes adding two more School Resource Officers to ensure coverage of a trained SRO during absences and to provide flexibility allowing for support outside of the regular scheduled hours.
The SROs help with the education of students, assist staff and facilitate communication between LPS and Lincoln Police Department. SROs take appropriate law enforcement action when situations arise requiring the exercise of police authority.
Each year in November, the Safe and Successful Kids Interlocal Board reviews and presents data and feedback collected by both LPS and the Lincoln Police Department. You can find the presentation from last November on our website.
The Board held a second reading and voted to approve the agreement.
Informational items and reports
Student Learning Committee
Committee chair Bob Rauner provided a brief summary of the meeting held earlier on Tuesday.
The committee reviewed the decision to have only kindergarten students at elementary schools on the first day and how that has made a positive impact for staff, students and families.
There was also a review of average class sizes, professional learning at the beginning of the year, and Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) data.
Superintendent update
LPS Superintendent John Skretta opened his remarks by welcoming back all students for the 2026-2027 school year. He said it was hard to believe we’ve already been in school for two weeks. Skretta has seen highly effective classroom management where teachers are establishing expectations, routines and structure while empowering student voice and input.
Skretta added, “Simply put, our teachers do an amazing job and they get a tremendous level of support from our building principals and it all creates classroom spaces that are orderly and inviting places where students succeed.”
Public comment
There were two individuals that addressed the Board during the public comment period.
Glimpses of LPS
We open every Board meeting with a video that highlights LPS. Tuesday’s Glimpses highlighted LPS families on the first week of school.